I walked into the local record store here today and got myself three Wyman solo albums. I had never heard but felt that at least some of that stuff should be in the collection. I got Monkey Grip, Stone Alone and Stuff. Hell, they were only 10 euro each... I dont have the one with Si si je suis un rock star.
It was a thing called 'The Bill Wyman solo collection'. They also had a double cd, something like 'the bill wyman collection' . All of the CDs feature extra tracks and they're (C) 2007 Sanctuary Records Group / Castle music. I believe I have some old Motorhead on castle music as well.

Well I havent been able to sit through to any of them. I guess the one I thought was strongest was Stuff. Chuck, with the bad reputation on this board, plays on it, and it's sort of a semi-funky thing. A bit like the Jazz from Hell sound, if anybody remembers that Zappa record. Strange thing is it sounds very 80s. But it came out in 1992.
The liner notes on Monkey Grip mention that in the 60s Bill was writing songs for other artists. I didn't know that.

Anybody else here any tastes / opinions...?

I like Pussy, a bluegrass track from Monkey Grip, that features banjo, fiddle, Jews (it may be un-PC to call it that ) harp, and a trombone sliding throughout.

A lot of fans don't know about it, but it's really great. Pussy is hot!

More people should get into Pussy.

Pussy is a great track, imo. I also like the Monkey Grip track and What A Blow. Each album has a couple good songs (although I really hate the Stuff album) but as I've said in the past, Bill is the most uninspired singer I've ever heard in my life - basically most songs sound like he's just talking, and boorishly at that.

So yes, each album as a couple good songs but unfortunately most of the other tracks suck.

Allright. I'll try Pussy.
@LeonidP. Indeed his singing is very very flat...

get his Rhythm Kings stuff.
"Wanna Get Me a Gun" and "Pussy" are wonderful, the rest is forgettable.
always when I listen to Monkey Grip I get a feeling it's all a big joke. ;^)

Pussy? What was Wyman after there? The usual?

They tell all songwriters:"write about what you know."

( I can't wait for the "Metal Detector" album to come out)

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Angus MacBagpipe
They tell all songwriters:"write about what you know."

( I can't wait for the "Metal Detector" album to come out)

I hear the working title is "Metal Detector Machine Music".

White Lightnin' sho' tastes good!





"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

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Deltics
White Lightnin' sho' tastes good!

Better than Pussy?

try the rhythm kings, that´s usic. Monkey Grip is, let´s say, ok. The other three are boring

love the first two solo albums ....spotty after that....but all his rhythm king records get more play here than stones records do.

The only one I can honestly call listenable would be the one from the early eighties with "(Si, Si) Je Suis un Rock Star," "Come Back, Suzanne," and "A New Fashion." Even that one has hideous tracks like "Girls" and "Jump Up."

The two mid-seventies albums are really bad. "Peanut Butter Time," "Pussy," "No More Fooling," "Apache Woman," "Monkey Grip Glue," etc. are really bad.

The one from the early nineties that was really cut in the mid to late eighties, STUFF is the worst of all of them.

Willy and the Poor Boys and The Rhythnm Kings are a cut above Sha-Na-Na, but that's about all I could say for them.

Bill was the best bass player the Stones could have had and he contributed greatly to their sound, but sadly he should have left his songwriting and recording ambitions to his own home archive.

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Angus MacBagpipe
They tell all songwriters:"write about what you know."

( I can't wait for the "Metal Detector" album to come out)

I'd dig it for sure!

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loog droog

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Deltics
White Lightnin' sho' tastes good!

Better than Pussy?

Behave yourself!


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

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Deltics

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loog droog

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Deltics
White Lightnin' sho' tastes good!

Better than Pussy?

Behave yourself!

Sorry.

I generally try to be a gentleman around here.




But I just LOOOOOOVVE Pussy!!!

Monkey Grip is almost vaudevillian in style....there is also a crazy video for Get Me a Gun on You Tube. There used to be one for Monkey Grip Glue with Bill playing piano, but I cannot find it anymore. Does anyone know what show these clips are from?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-07-24 04:31 by mckalk.

Monkey Grip ain't all that bad. Stone Alone is pretty dismal. The Poor Boys thing is a tolerable oldies set. The Rhythm Kings stuff I've heard is "tasty." (Gareth Keenan from The Office). The rest, ah dunno.

Why did Bill call the album 'Monkey Grip' - I read about it in one of my books somewhere, but can't remember why - may be a sexual reference - think there was a promo poster with a monkey with a banana in his hand!


Cheers

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Deltics
White Lightnin' sho' tastes good!

Inspiration by JJ Cale.

ROCKMAN

thanks Rockman, that was the one I was thinking about, the LADY with the banana in her hand!

Now, what's Rhyming Slang for Monkey Grip?

Cheers

"What A Blow" is actually really good. Play it loud!

Sorry if this has been posted before:


[www.aceshowbiz.com]

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Amsterdamned
Sorry if this has been posted before:


[www.aceshowbiz.com]

Talk about calling the kettle black...of all the comments Wyman could have made about Taylors time in the Stones...this is truly bizarre.

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mckalk

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Amsterdamned
Sorry if this has been posted before:


[www.aceshowbiz.com]

Talk about calling the kettle black...of all the comments Wyman could have made about Taylors time in the Stones...this is truly bizarre.

Are you kidding? Did you just read the headline of the article?

The headline is just ONE of the 100s of comments Wyman has made about Taylor; and even if the article is brief - you can see all the nice words Wyman says about Taylor

When Monkey Grip came out, Bill said in a Crawdaddy article that Taylor was the "best musican" in the group.

He also said Charlie was the "best drummer."

Yes, but what's the 'crack' with Bill Wyman and rhyming slang for Monkey Grip?


Cheers